May 20, 2015

On May 20, the House passed the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act (H.R.1561) which would fund the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) research on storm forecasting and early warning systems.  The bill would also support postdoctoral research opportunities with the National Weather Service (NWS) and stresses interagency cooperation. The total authorization for fiscal year (FY) 2015 is $90.8 million, and would increase to $100 million for FY 2016 and FY 2017.

 In addition to funding research and technology related to weather prediction and warning, the bill would fund alternative strategies for NOAA’s data collection. In the coming year, NOAA is required to explore private sector partnerships in relation to its data collection. This includes making weather data specifications public and seeking private industry partnerships.

Source: Congress.gov